The Christmas Wish
by Batwings79
Summary: Of snowball fights and moonlight and living life unafraid. A Richobel Christmas Wish for all the Richobel Secret Santas! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, One and All!


Summary: Of snowball fights and moonlight and living life unafraid.

The sound of children's laughter rang out from behind the stone wall at the first sight of snowflakes falling from the sky. Pausing at the end of the drive, he watched three bundles of energy burst into the open and begin to chase each other around the front garden. Tom Branson and Lady Mary Crawley stepped into the pool of warm light spilling through the doorway of Crawley House, followed by Lady Edith and Isobel.

"We'll never get them to sleep at this rate!" exclaimed Mary with a laugh as she watched Little George and Sybbie throwing fistfuls of snow at each other.

"Marigold, come here before you catch your death!"

"Leave her be, Edith! She'll be fine!" interrupted Mr. Branson, "Go on darling." He turned the little girl back around with a gentle nudge and smiled as she ran after her cousin Sybbie.

Isobel laughed and gave Edith a reassuring squeeze, "He's right, my dear. It will help them burn off some of that energy before going to bed."

The man in the gray suit stood quietly so as not to attract attention as he watched the tableau in front of him. The children with their pink cheeks and eyes sparkling, their parents keeping watch from the walk with affectionate smiles, and the occasional warning when one cousin was sneaking up on the other or sending up a cheer when a snowball hit its intended target.

He watched her profile as she kept vigil from the upper steps, wrapped snugly in an old-fashioned tartan rug that he recognized from the back of her sofa. She looked every inch the doctor's wife were it not for the flashing jewels dangling from her earlobes and the beaded hem of her dress. She smiled and laughed along with the others but he couldn't help noticing the tightness around her eyes that belied the jovial note she tried to keep in her voice.

He had kept his distance during the affair with Lord Merton and his sons, as she tried her best to do battle and carve out a place in their family but the boys were having none of it. He found himself angry at the entire situation, not with her but with Lord Merton, for not standing his ground and fighting for the woman that he professed to love. _If it were I_, he had lamented but he knew all too well the social pressures that went with class and title and found himself grateful not to have to deal with that.

A sudden stillness overtook the garden and he turned to find all three children frozen in time. Sybbie had toppled over into a drift and lay staring up at George whose face was covered in snow. Marigold stood a few feet away with eyes wide as saucers when she realized what she had done. He couldn't help but laugh aloud when George wiped the snow from his face with a wide grin and proceeded to chase down his cousin and tickle her until she cried out for her mother.

All three parents trod through the deepening snow to gather the children and herd them off to dreamland with admonitions about Father Christmas leaving no gifts beneath the tree if they didn't return home soon. His heart fell to his feet when he glanced over and found her staring at him with a frown. He considered retreating and finding a different path back to the hospital but knew that he should face her and explain his skulking about at the end of her drive.

He did retreat back along the sidewalk as the motorcar came down the drive and turned into the street. No sense letting the young folk get a glimpse of him that she might have to try and explain away later. When he stepped back out into the drive, he found she was already halfway down to meet him.

"I'm sorry I interrupted…"

"You should have joined…" they both spoke at once.

Chuckling and holding up one hand, "I was on my way home from the O'Malley's and saw the children playing in the snow. You were all having such a good time that I didn't want to interrupt."

"They were having fun, weren't they? They are a healing balm for their parents," she affirmed staring out across the garden as the snowflakes began to dissipate.

"And what about you?" he asked gently.

"I'm sure they will be…eventually," she whispered the last.

The silence became awkward and he struggled to find something to say. "I was sorry to hear about Lord Merton." He regretted the words as soon as they'd left his mouth.

She shook her head with a grim smile and said, "Hmm, I gave it my best….no…" She paused and he waited patiently for her to continue, knowing she would tell him when she was ready. "I was foolish to believe that it would work."

"You were not being foolish," he said earnestly, "Lord Merton should have done more, stood up to his sons." He noticed her beginning to shiver in the cold and set down his medical bag to remove his coat and place it around her shoulders. Fussing with the collar and front of the coat to make certain she was protected against the breeze that had begun to clear the clouds overhead, "Well, if it had been me…" His voice trailed off when her hand came to rest against his chest.

"I was foolish then too…I was afraid." She stared at their hands when he covered hers and gave it a gentle squeeze of encouragement. "I had just gained my footing you see, just come into my own in the family. And Matthew…" Taking a deep breath, she plunged on, "I needed to maintain the status quo for just a bit, make sure that things between Mary and Matthew were solid. And then all that…the accident…the day that George was born…"

"Shhhh," he murmured, "I was there, remember?"

She nodded silently and then suddenly, the clouds parted and cast a glow about them as the moonlight reflected off the snow. Looking up, Isobel squeezed his hand and closed her eyes, "Make a wish, Doctor!" He followed her gaze up and caught the last vestiges of a shooting star before turning to gaze down at her. With her eyes closed, he could study her face openly. He found himself smiling at the way she had squeezed her eyes shut and scrunched up her nose, like a child.

"So…what did you wish for?" he asked with a laugh.

She straightened up and managed to glare at him with one eye. "I can't tell, my wish won't come true!"

"Maybe, but if you don't, I won't be able to tell if I can help make your wish come true," he countered.

Both eyes were open now as she stared searchingly at him. He felt a bit intimidated by her directness but hoped within his heart that he had whatever it was she was looking for. He felt her weight shift as she leaned closer until their breaths mingled, billowing white plumes in the frosty air. He moved forward slowly, giving her plenty of time to pull away and found himself surprised when she closed the distance herself.

Soft and tentative at first, Richard found himself swirling away in a torrent of sensations. He almost pulled away when he found himself responding to the way she yielded against his body, his tongue slipping gently along her lower lip, she surprised him again when her lips parted to deepen the kiss. His arms made their way around her and they stood kissing in the moonlight, neither frantically or passionately but with deep longing. When he finally lifted his head, he looked down to find her eyes still closed and a sweet smile on her lips.

"Penny for them," he whispered in her ear.

"Mmmm…" she hummed before turning to look at him, "I was thinking that perhaps it's time to stop being afraid." He raised an eyebrow and gave her a gentle smile in return as the bells of the village church began to peal.

"Happy Christmas, Isobel."

"Happy Christmas, Richard."


End file.
